Nothing Like Your First Time

Along with April Fools Day, the 2013 Major League Baseball season begins Monday and with it, the opportunity for kids to see their very first game.

The New York Yankees warm up before the game against the Boston Red Sox during Opening Day (Elsa/Getty Images)

There is nothing like the experience of going to the ballpark for the very first time. The sights, the sounds, even the smells come to life as you walk through the stadium that up until then, you’ve only seen on TV. The players that you’ve only seen on the screen are standing right there!

When I was growing up in Union City, there was a bus going into New York every 5 minutes and on Saturdays myself and my friends would be on one, then, depending on who was home, we either took the A train to Yankee Stadium or the D train to Shea.

But it was my Dad who took me to my first ever baseball game in 1970 when I was in 7th grade. We went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play the Detroit Tigers. Stan Bahnsen was pitching against Michey Lolich.

I don’t remember who won but the Yankee lineup included Danny Cater at first, Horace Clarke at second, Gene “The Stick” Michael at short, Jerry Kenny at third. The outfield consisted of Roy White in left, Bobby Murcer in center and Curt Blefary in right. The catcher was Thurman Munson. These are the guys whose pictures hung on my walls and there they are playing right in front of me!

A dog dressed in a Mets uniform is seen prior to the opening day game between the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres at Citi Field (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

It was one of the greatest days of my life, seeing the game and spending it with my Dad whom I didn’t get to see a lot because he was always working. We talked baseball like two grownups. Sports is the great equalizer between a father and a son. I now live for the day when I will take my sons to their first game.

What was the first baseball game you ever went to? How old were you and who did you go with?

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